Deadly floods strand thousands in Peruvian capital

Torrential rains triggered flash floods in the Peruvian capital Lima, stranding thousands of people Friday and forcing rescuers to find ways to evacuate them across roads turned to raging rivers.

The inundation came as the National Emergency Operations Center said at least 65 people have been killed in Peru this year in natural disasters, the latest being three deaths in a flood in the La Libertad region of northern Peru. Two people were missing.

After weeks of heavy rain, some residents on the outskirts of the capital of 10 million people awoke Friday to the realization their bedrooms were filling with water.

Others found themselves cut off by mudslides that blocked portions of the main highway linking Lima to the center of the country.